The Essential Backpacking Packing List

Welcome to the ultimate backpacking packing list! So you’re going on an adventure of a lifetime? We’re so excited for you!

Preparing for an adventure can be a daunting challenge, with so much to deal with before you head off into the world! Luckily we have you sorted with our backpacking packing list, the full guide you can read below.

In this guide, we’ll cover the following topics:

What type of backpack to take with you

The best footwear options

What clothes to take with you

The important administrative tasks you must complete before you embark on your adventure

What technology you should take with you

The key toiletries to take

Some useful tips you might not have thought of

But before we dive into the backpacking packing list, there are three key things we recommend you do NOW before you leave on your backpacking trip!

Get Travel Insurance

Book Your Accommodation

Plan Your Journey

You must have travel insurance for your trip! This for us is non negotiable, if you get sick or injured on the road (and we’ve seen it happen to others) you’ll need it. We use World Nomads insurance (recommended by Lonely Planet & National Geographic!). Click the image above for more details and a quote!

We recommend you use Agoda.com to check your accommodation options! Whenever we’re making plans for a new destination, we always research the accommodation options first to check what’s available, that’s just our travel style. We’ve booked hostels and hotels all over the world through Agoda.com!

We always recommend that you book your journey in advance, so you have peace of mind that your seats are booked! We recommend using 12go.asia as they offer train, bus and ferry ticket booking online in advance! Check out your journey options and prices here and get your seat reserved!

The Essential Backpacking Packing List

When you’re making your final decisions on your backpacking packing list, the key question to answer for yourself is:

“When it is 35 degrees and we’re running for a train/plane/taxi/tuk tuk/elephant, what do we want on our backs?”

Sharpens the mind towards the essentials, doesn’t it? We always take as little as possible with us on our adventures, why take stuff that you can buy en route for a fraction of the cost? With that in mind, here is our tried and tested travel packing list, and we’re delighted.

So what do we take? We’ve got two lists, one for Barry (male backpacking packing list) and Laura (female backpacking packing list). First up, Barry! A quick note to say that Barry carries the small carry on bag for planes which will be where we store our electronic items, thus the electronic items in this list are for two people! Read on for his comprehensive backpacking packing list!

My Backpacking Packing List

We’ve used Berghaus for our main backpack for a couple of years now, and found them to be rugged and sturdy, even when we’ve exposed them to extreme conditions across the world from deserts to freezing mountains. They also cope very well being thrown into numerous cargo compartments of planes, trains and buses. We highly recommend Berghaus and find them to be considerably cheaper than other brands out there.

Choosing the size of your rucksack is a tough decision, you’ll be carrying this around on your back so we wouldn’t reccomend anything bigger than 60 litres. We take this size as we carry a lot of equipment to create our travel films and articles, so if you’re not planning on doing this, you could take a smaller backpack.

We also carry a smaller backpack which is primarily used to carry our laptop and cameras, and any items we need for a day hike or day out and about. This is especially useful when we’re on a bus, train or plane for a few hours and we don’t want to leave our valuables unattended in a cargo hold.

It also means when we arrive at a destination, we can put our large backpack on our backs, and our small backpack on our front so we can keep an eye on it as we battle through crowds at train and bus stations. We prefer an 18 Litre Backpack as it is small enough to put on our front, but large enough to fit our laptop.

An absolute must for hot countries and for those beach escapes. I’ve gotten through a lot of flip flops in my time, but these flip flops from Quiksilver have lasted me years now and are really comfortable.

Light trainers

These trainers might seem like an odd choice, but there are times when flip flops just aren’t suitable and you don’t want to put on your walking trainers. I use these when we’re in cities, or the infrequent times we decide to go out for some drinks and something to eat in a nice place. They are light and fold away so take up hardly any space.

We choose to take walking trainers rather than walking boots when we travel. These Salomon walking trainers have taken me up mountains, across deserts and through rivers, and I couldn’t have done it without them! They are breathable, light and sturdy and take up much less space than a pair of walking boots.

Sun Hat (if you are prone to burning in the sun, take or buy a hat on your travels. I always wear one on treks in case my sunscreen sweats off)

Admin

Travel Insurance (THIS IS IMPORTANT – don’t leave without it! We strongly believe if you’re going on an adventure of a lifetime, you should take out insurance to cover you. Use the form here to get a free quote from the insurer we use for our adventures! If you need persuading to take out insurance, click here for our reasons why you should take out insurance)

Passports (and photocopies)

Passport Photographs (for visas)

Credit Card (with free cash withdrawals abroad – main source of cash with direct debit set up to pay off balance each month)

Credit Card (for purchases and backup)

Current Account (for cash withdrawals with small amount of cash in as a further back up)

Flight Confirmations

Proof Of Vaccinations

Drivers License (for your road trips)

2 x Head Torch(these will be invaluable if you plan on camping, or go on any treks that start before sunrise. You will want to keep your hands free!)

Technology Packing List

– 15 inch MacBook Pro Laptop Whilst we travel, we’re also working. As we document all our adventures on this very blog, we spend a lot of time on the road editing photos, writing articles and creating travel films. As a result we prefer this sturdy piece of kit and its not let us down yet! If you’re not blogging and just want to keep in touch with people and access the internet, then an iPad mini would do the job very nicely.

1 x Kindle If you aren’t taking an iPad with you, then a kindle is an absolute must if you’re planning on spending a lot of time on buses and trains. The battery life is great, and if you’re planning on getting away from it all theres no better company than a good book.

We’ve recently upgraded to this brilliant camera to shoot our professional films, but it is bulky and heavy for those who just want a good camera to capture moments on their adventures. For something a little smaller, check out the Sony A7.

We’re not Apple fan boys, but we do love the iPhone for quick internet access, photos and video. In fact, if you don’t want to bring a seperate camera then the camera on the iPhone might do a good enough job for you!

Spare camera battery

Rocket Blower

Handy to clean lens of dust, sand and other exotic materials from your lens

We debated whether to take a tripod with us but it has come in handy in many situations. When we’ve reached the top of a mountain and no-one has been there to take a photo, we’ve used it. We also use it to shoot stars at night and timelapes. I’ve used Manfrotto tripods for years and for the price there isn’t much better out there in terms of build quality and weight. (this we debated for ages but decided to go with a small, lightweight, cheap tripod)

Online Clever Things

Spotify premium account (£15 a month for a constant stream of new music which we can download onto our laptop/iPhones. Friends can also share playlists with us to keep us up to date)

Audio Books With Audible Free Trial (For all those long bus, train and plane journeys, there is nothing better than settling in to an audiobook to get through the hours fast! This is particularly good if you get motion sickness trying to read on buses! Highly recommended, and you get a free trial!)

WhatsApp messenger for iPhone (great app that you can group message friends for free over wifi)

So thats it, all of my worldly possessions as we travel! What do you think? Anything we’ve missed or recommendations let us know in the comments below!

Plan Your Adventure

Get Travel Insurance

Book Your Accommodation

Plan Your Journey

You must have travel insurance for your trip! This for us is non negotiable, if you get sick or injured on the road (and we’ve seen it happen to others) you’ll need it. We use World Nomads insurance (recommended by Lonely Planet & National Geographic!). Click the image above for more details and a quote!

We recommend you use Agoda.com to check your accommodation options! Whenever we’re making plans for a new destination, we always research the accommodation options first to check what’s available, that’s just our travel style. We’ve booked hostels and hotels all over the world through Agoda.com!

We always recommend that you book your journey in advance, so you have peace of mind that your seats are booked! We recommend using 12go.asia as they offer train, bus and ferry ticket booking online in advance! Check out your journey options and prices here and get your seat reserved!

Some of the links above are affiliate links, which means if you choose to book somewhere though our link, we receive a small commission. Don’t worry, it doesn’t cost you anything more, and most importantly, we only recommend companies that we use ourselves so you can trust our recommendations!

53 Comments

Since you’re not going to be out in the wilds and can purchase stuff along the way, I’d consider these things: – 3 pair underwear – 3 pair socks – drop the shorts and swim suit since your zip-offs work for that – drop polo shirts and take 2 t-shirts (buy new ones as needed) – drop 3rd pair of shoes – a down vest is much lighter and packable than fleece, but more $$$ – since you don’t expect cold rain, a light rain poncho goes over pack and body and weighs much less than raincoat But, I guess all that doesn’t really matter much when you weigh your electronics. 🙂 Adding a bandana could be very useful for many things. Knives and liquids on planes can still be a pain.

Thanks for the reply mate, much appreciated! I think I will drop a pair of shorts, and a couple of t shirts as well after your comments, I think I will need the three different types of shoes after all but you’re right – compared to the weight of the electronics it doesn’t make too much difference! Still can’t bring myself to drop any of the electronics though!

You 1000% need to get yourself a STERIpen. We rock the traveler model, used it EVERYwhere in South America. On our 120 day journey through South America, we guesstimate that we saved approx 240 one liter plastic bottles from entering landfills. Not to mention the $360 (at $1.5 USD for a one liter bottle avg). BOOM!

Great feedback Mike, I hadn’t heard of this before but it looks like an amazing piece of kit! We’re going to be spending a lot of time in South America so this will come in really handy – will try and get one this week before we go!

Everyone else has commented on the contents of your packs, but I just wanted to address the paid Spotify & Photobucket accounts. I made similar purchases before we left thinking I could just listen to music when I got online down under…um, not so much. Broadband speeds and data allowances are a *lot* lower in Australia and New Zealand, so if you were planning to rely on internet cafes or hostel internet access, photo sharing and music streaming will eat them up in no time (if your connection is good enough to support Spotify streaming, which often it won’t be) and get expensive quickly. Even something as simple as having a video ad playing unnoticed in one of your tabs will gobble the megabytes–install an ad blocker on your browser if you haven’t already. I strongly suggest getting a dongle for mobile broadband in each country (NZ Telecom and Telstra are the main providers–check out Indie Travel Podcast and Gran Tourismo for NZ and Aus specific info). I haven’t had to explore mobile broadband options in the US before, but all the major cellular carriers will probably offer them.

Really great comment Rachel, good to hear of someone who has tried to use these services before! We were wondering about internet speeds, so I guess we’ll just need to see how we get on – we’re hoping we don’t have to stream very often as the paid account allows us to download, so hopefully if we can find decent internent once a month to download new music we should be ok! But you’re right, we’ve heard it can be very patchy internet! I guess we can always cancel if its not working out!

We’ll definitely check out the mobile broadband options, particularly for NZ as a couple of friends did this too. We’ll have a listen to the podcasts you recommend, thanks so much for the advice!

Just wanted to say hello – I stumbled upon your blog from Twitter, and noticed that we are also getting married and taking a backpacking honeymoon in 2012, as are you two!! Looking forward to reading about your adventures!

I guess it comes down to personal preference. We prefer to have our daypacks on our front so that we can store and see our valuables in front of us as we walk through crowded areas. If its strapped to the backpack on our packs its more exposed. We also always take our daypacks onto the bus, so that we can keep them close to us and have access to our laptop etc on long journeys. Some people prefer one bag, we like two!

Nice list Barry, very similar to ours in fact..! I was really happy with everything we decided to pack for our travels… one thing I did find, was the Macbook Pro was pretty damn heavy mate, it’s amazing once you drop it in your pack it feels like it doubles the weight of your pack! In a perfect world I’d have an Air for travel and a Pro for work. The earphone splitter is pure Gold! We found so many times when we were killing hours on long-haul bus rides on the watching movies on the iPad… we’d turn around and half the bus was watching the movie over our seat backs lol. Enjoy your travel Guys Marc & Anna

First off, sounds fun! Thoughts: Too much underwear. Get x3 of synthetic or exoficio so you can wash in sink and dry out. Same with trainer socks- merino wool dries fast and performs well. Why kindle x2? silk sheets, and tech gear looks great! Seemed like you might need more warm clothes if you really are going to Antarctica. Do they have overseas health insurance? Might be a good idea. Also make copies of passport and credit cards and store in inside pocket incase of theft you at least have # of who to call, etc. and as far as shoes: what will you be doing while abroad? Unless you are trekking, I’d bring only flip flops and a multi-sport shoes like trail runners or comfortable trainers.

Thanks for the tips Alyssa, we do go trekking whilst travelling so the hiking trainers have been really useful! We were ok for warm clothes in Antarctica, we went with Quark Expeditions and part of the deal is you get a big fleece and big jacket as well to keep!

Great list! Can I ask how do you pack your DSLR away when you move between hostels or cities or on treks and how do you carry it with you during the day (in your day pack or in your hand/around shoulder)?

Hi Josh, good question! When we move between hostels and cities, I put the camera in its camera bag and then place this back in my backpack. I pack this at the top of the bag in case I need to get it out. During the day it depends what I’m doing, at tourist sites I’ll have it out all day. In cities, I tend to keep it in the backpack and take it out when needed. Normally when we arrive in a new city, I’ll spend the first day taking photos of the area so that I don’t need to take my camera every day after that when I’m out and about in a city.

I’d probably drop the 2 long sleeve tops and take an extra 1 or 2 light cotton long sleeve shirts. Do the same job with arm coverage, with the added neck protection with the collar (plus can help you look smarter for those nights on the town).

1 pair of shoes (rarely worn) and flip flops (or thongs here in Australia) usually do us for a trip as well.Chris recently posted…Noodle Night Delight

The answer to the question that is the first question on this website, is nothing, this is a honest answer,I would like to add a comment,I can’t help think it,but I have never read so much pr drivel in all my life,and it’s all the same useless mind numbing codswollerp on every website,from what I’ve learnt in all my years of traveling,is don’t trust anyone ,travel with the bear essential,and try to learn how to survive with no human help or no money to buy your way out of hunger or what ever problem your in,I’ll share a few more rules I’ve got,no watches or jewellery,no phones or I pads that included any electronic devices at all,if you do fill the need to have something Incase of exstream emergencies then take a g.p.s locater so you can get help if you think it’s needed..to be honest I’m tired and I’ve got to muc to tell,and I don’t usually type or mess,so sorry for my poor spelling and incorrect grammar ,so good evening nobody,and good buy everyone

I also find that when I wake up with amnesia on a boat in the middle of the Mediterranean, I can rely on nothing except my hidden ninja/secret assassin training skills, before making my way to Switzerland to find numbered bank accounts that, fortunately, I have tattooed on my forearms.

I would suggest to also take a gun, a garrotte, two sticks of C4, and at least three passports under different names.

But to the writer of this article, thanks for your list! My girlfriend and I are preparing a similar four month trip and are trying to figure out what to buy (and pack). I’ve gotten some good ideas from your blogs and others. I replaced my Macbook Pro with a 12” Macbook, and my D90 with a GM1… which saved me like four pounds of equipment right away. Now to see if I can get everything to fit in a 33 L backpack + 20 L daypack, or if I need to upsize…

So it’s true you guys are really big on electronics. ‘Cuz I rarely bring along a laptop on a backpacking trip even outside the country. I have a big backpack but I’m more on toiletries and personal effects. Maybe because I’m a girl? LOL

This is a very detailed packing list! I am a photographer so I will definitely take my camera, lenses, extra battery and SD cards… for the rest I really will need few pairs of walking shoes and a good medicine box. I am going on a trip through Asia and I will catch the raining season I think. I will be moving a lot from place to place and I need to have a well packed backpack! I am very excited about my trip! Thanks for sharing this post! Greets!

Hi Matteo, we’re assuming from your comment that you think that our reccomendations are too expensive? Aside from the technology part of the list, everything else is pretty reasonably priced and essential for a trip! As for the technology, this is our packing list that we use because we also work whilst we travel (updating this very blog!).

If you don’t need to work whilst you travel, then you wouldn’t need the technology we have! Everyone is different though, and people who are keen photographers or videographers always ask us what we use, so here it is in this list!

Wayyyyy too much electronics! A go pro and a camera? Do you really need a laptop? Hostels usually have access to computers.

Did a year in 2008, and it was an Ipod with a few movies, a paperback book which I used to swap with other travellers when finished, a deck of cards, point and click camera and a crap mobile phone in event of breakage or theft.

Leave room in your pack for gifts on your travels rather waste space on technology, plus it makes you more introverted.

Hi James, yep we do take a lot of electronics, but as we explained we also work when we travel (running this blog for starters!). So we definitely need a laptop to keep up to date with work. And yes we have a go pro and a camera, there is no way we’d take our camera into the water so the go pro comes into its own there. Plus it’s tiny so makes no real difference to our space!

Everyone travels differently, and if you can travel with less than us then fair play to you! For us though, given we work on the road, this is what we need to keep things going!

Hi guys, great blog and a useful list. Just come back from India and purchased a Sky Master 70 Wheeled Travel Pack/ Rucksack for the journey. The day pack zips onto the main rucksack, for when moving around , and also detaches and can be worn on your front. Nice piece of kit.

Don’t think some people understand about the electronics required for your work but hey ho!

Nice Article for those who love to travel and you have that great post in listing of your item. This could help a lot in a Backpacker and I’m glad to read all the list in this article. As a Pinay Backpacker I think your article is a guide for those backpacker around the world.Adveturous Aubrey recently posted…My Top 5 Favorite Pasalubong Delicacies

Great article! Just wondering if you have any tips for keeping your tech stuff safe whilst travelling? I’m keen to take my Macbook and DSLR but just concerned about it potentially going missing! I will obviously have my camera on me during the day but don’t really want to lug my laptop about on day trips.

Great question, and it’s a really difficult one to answer! The short answer is it depends on how secure we feel our accommodation is. We normally stay in private rooms, so if we feel the room is secure and we trust the owners/accommodation, we’ll usually just leave the laptop in the room. If we’re not so sure, I’ll just take it with me in my backpack but that is pretty rare. You can lock the laptop in your large bag and lock that to something in the room as well. I personally would never leave a laptop in a shared room, even in a locked bag that’s just me.

Google sent me here. 😛 I’m heading to Asia, and now I’m bummed that I’m not backpacking it. This is a good list to go off and it was fun to read the comments. I haven’t started packing, but am planning on only bringing a carryon and a backpack for this month long trip. I’ve started my list and I have a butt load of electronics too (without the working while traveling excuse :P). I’m hoping it will all fit into the backpack because I’m more worried for those items than the clothes/toiletries etc.

Thanks for your comment Nina & good luck with your packing! Remember to get some compression sacks (if you haven’t already!) to help reduce the volume taken up by your clothes, they make such a difference! Fingers crossed everything fits & wishing you safe travels!

Great list! Thank you so much for the helpful suggestions and the comment section was also helpful. My husband and i are going on a 2 month trek around Australia, New Zealand and Thailand so we’re a bit out of sorts with clothing to pack since we will be in all kinds of weather (but mostly stinking hot!)., so this list was really helpful in narrowing it down. We are going to be purchasing a new backpack and are not sure how large (my husband suggested he carry both of our clothing items and essential toiletries and i would only carry a smaller pack with the leftover essentials) since he is a lot stronger then i am! We tend to do hand washing as we go so this is doable. Do you think 40 L would be enough for the 2 of us? We are bringing very little electronics just a phone, ipad and a camera. Just a quick question about brands, we live in Canada and not sure about the best brands for the trekking pants (i like the idea of having something breathable, lightweight, quickdry and will be good in hot and cooler weather), so far i haven’t found anything quite as good as the one you suggested.

Hi Samantha, glad to hear that our list has been helpful 🙂 From experience, you certainly don’t need a whole load of stuff when travelling, and the less to carry the better! Plus I usually make the mistake of not leaving enough space for shopping or market nik naks, however posting things home is a good solution for this. Anyway your target for 40 litres for both of you is very impressive! We always have a lot of camera equipment and gear, so it’s hard to say but this is pretty small. Typically we work with a smaller 40-50 litre bag for myself and Barry takes a slightly larger (typically 60 litre) as he carries the heavy electronic equipment as well as his own clothing etc. So if you guys can fit all of your essentials into just one 40 litre bag then hats off to you! 🙂 I wouldn’t stress too much about it though as you can always buy another bag or replace clothing items as you go, especially in the destinations you’re going to. For our last trip, Barry used the 60 litre Berghaus Backpack that we recommend in this article, but I switched to a smaller 45 litre case with wheels and straps which was great as I can count on one hand the number of times that I wasn’t able to wheel it and had to put it on my back. This is the one here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Track-Wheeled-Trolley-Backpack-Wheels/dp/B00I5NPRRA – I’m just not sure if you can buy it in Canada or not. Anyway hope this helps a little! Good luck with your packing & organising….it’ll all be worth it! 🙂 Happy travels to you & your husband, Laura